How to Buy S&P 500 on Wealthsimple | An Easy 5 Step Guide

Investing in the S&P 500 has become increasingly popular in recent years.

With its strong historical performance and broad exposure to the U.S. stock market, many investors are looking to add this index to their portfolios. So if you’re considering investing in the S&P 500, you might be wondering if you can buy it through Wealthsimple, and if so, how to do it. 

In this article, I’ll provide you with an easy 5-step guide on how to buy the S&P 500 on Wealthsimple.

Can You Buy the S&P 500 with Wealthsimple?

Yes, Wealthsimple Trade users can directly invest into S&P 500 ETFs.

It’s important to note that the S&P 500 index is just that, an index.

So the index itself is not something people can invest in, but financial institutions, like Vanguard ^[1], who create ETFs and Index Funds that mirror these indexes are what we investors are actually investing in.

But to eliminate any confusion, just know that yes – you can definitely buy S&P 500 ETFs on Wealthsimple with the Wealthsimple Trade platform.

If you don’t yet have a Wealthsimple Trade account, you can get started with one here, or learn more about the popular Canadian platform below.

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Noel’s Take on Wealthsimple Trade

Due to its low costs, diverse investment options and overall ease of use, I think Wealthsimple Trade is Canada’s best self-directed online brokerage platform, and I would give it a score of 4.5/5.

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How to Buy S&P 500 on Wealthsimple

Now that we know you can buy the S&P 500 on Wealthsimple, let’s take a walk-through on exactly how to do it in my 5-step guide.

I’ll be doing this walk-through on a desktop, but the steps you see below are essentially identical if you’re on your mobile device.

Let’s get started!

Step #1 – Login to Your Wealthsimple Trade Account

So first things first, you’ll need to log in to your Wealthsimple Trade account.

And as mentioned above, if you don’t yet have an account, you can sign up for one here. The entire sign-up process only takes about 15 minutes.

Once you’re set up and logged in, you’ll have a screen like I have below (minus the parts I blocked out).

Now move on to step #2.

Step #2 – Look up “S&P 500” in the Search Bar

Okay, so now in the search bar in the top navigation, you’ll want to type in “s&p 500”.

You’ll then see “VOO – Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | NYSE”.

Once you click that you’ll be brought to the trading page which is step #3

Quick Note: You could also buy “VFV – Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF | TSX” ^[2] which is an ETF that holds the exact same assets, but it’s in Canadian dollars and on a Canadian exchange so you won’t have to pay a currency conversion fee. I am a Wealthsimple Trade Plus member so I have a USD account which is why I bought on the NYSE. But just remember they track the exact same index and will have identical market performances.

Step #3 – Select the Number of Shares You Want to Purchase and Click Buy

Once you land on the page where you’ll actually buy the asset, you will need to put in the number of shares you want to buy first.

As of August 2023, the S&P 500 is trading at $400 a share, so if I bought ten shares, it’d cost me roughly $4000.

But however many shares you want to buy, you just enter it in and then click “Buy VOO” (or VFV if you bought on the TSX).

There are also different “order types” you can select from which are market buy, fractional buy, limit buy and stop limit buy.

I won’t get into each of these in-depth, but in short, a market buy is where you just buy at the current market price. Fractional buying lets you buy a fraction of the share, so if you don’t have $400 to spend on a stock, but you still want to get in the game, you can just buy a piece of the stock.

Limit buy is you set the price you want to buy the stock at, once the share drops to that price, Wealthsimple will automatically put your order through at the limit price you indicated.

So once you’ve got your order all set, click Buy VOO and move on to step #4.

Step #4 – Look Over Purchase Details and Click Confirm Order

Now all you have to do is check over your purchase details and if you’re satisfied with what you see, click “confirm order.”

In the screen grab above, you’ll see I just purchased $1.00 of VOO (fractional buy) and there are no other costs outside of the share’s price. However, if you don’t have a Wealthsimple Trade Plus account and you buy VOO, you’ll see a currency conversion fee incorporated here.

If you buy VFV, you won’t see any fees as Wealthsimple doesn’t charge any commission fees. Check out my article here for a more detailed breakdown, with examples, of Wealthsimple Trade’s fees.

Step #5 – Click Done

Now you’re all done, so just click “Done” or “View order status”.

Depending on what your order type is, the amount of time it takes from ordering to it officially being filled will vary.

Once your order does get filled, you’ll get an email looking something like this (different order details obviously):

And voila, you’re done! Congrats on owning a piece of the market!

FAQs about Buying the S&P 500